Lock Your Door
by Grape Nehi
Summary: Hawkeye is found dead and BJ struggles to find the truth. UPDATED: The truth is disclosed!
1. Prologue

_Lock your door but rain is pouring through your window pane..._

The sun had just appeared over the horizon when two locals stumbled upon Captain Pierce's lifeless body in the middle of a field a few miles from the 4077th MASH. The old farmer peered down as his young son groped Hawkeye's dog tags. The farmer directed the boy to help him put the man's body in the back of their grungy ox cart and the boy did as he was told. The farmer climbed into back of the cart, sitting with his legs folded next to Hawkeye's body. He gestured to his son to lead the ox cart towards the 4077th so that they may return the captain to his unit.

Father Mulcahy was the first to see the ox cart moving closer to the compound. He had just purchased an English-Korean dictionary while in Seoul the week before and was eager to try it out. So the priest carried the small dictionary in his pocket as he headed out to meet the ox cart half way. When he reached it, he almost fainted. But instead of fainting, he started gasping for air and he grabbed hold of the old farmer's hand.

"What happened?" he cried in English. "Is he dead?"

The old farmer looked at the priest, who was clenching his hand rather tightly now. He said something in Korean. Father Mulcahy remembered the dictionary and took it out of his pocket, flipping to the D section.

"Dead?" he cried again, this time in Korean.

The boy looked to the sky and the farmer nodded. Father Mulcahy fell to his knees, grasping the cross that was hanging around his neck.

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_(Lyrics from "Hammer To Fall" by Queen.)_


	2. Chapter 1

This is the first story that I've written that I actually sort of know where it's going. Go me! _G.N._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of them. Yet.

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"Hawkeye's replacement will arrive late tonight..."

"Excuse me, Colonel, can we not use the word 'replacement' please?" I asked quietly.

"Of course... sorry. I don't know anything about the man except that he went to Johns Hopkins and that he's pretty fresh out of residency." Colonel Potter made eye contact with each of us that were standing around his desk. We all had sleepy eyes that were red from crying. Even Frank's showed signs that tears had visited him during the night. The colonel bowed his head down momentarily, bringing it back up rather slowly. "Listen, I know how hard this is on all of you. It's hard on me too. But we've got to remember what we're here for and we have to overcome this..."

"Hawkeye would want us to," Margaret sighed. I knew that she didn't want to cry in front of us and I understood perfectly. But something inside of me wished that she would so that I could know for sure that she had some sort of feeling inside of her, some sort of remorse for what she had done.

We all sort of nodded and then the colonel quietly dismissed us. Margaret walked off in the direction of her tent as Frank and I walked side by side towards the Swamp.

"Hunnicutt," Frank mumbled. "What happened?"

I looked at him. "Shut up, Frank."

"You can't pretend you don't know forever. It'll eat you up inside. You'll go crazy." Frank nodded as he quickened his walk.

"Oh, screw you!" I yelled as he walked away. I knew he was right, but I wasn't about to tell anyone what had really occurred that night. No one needed to know; it wasn't any of their business.

When I reached the Swamp, Frank had already laid down on his cot, hoping to sleep a little. I too was sleep deprived but I really didn't want to close my eyes. I didn't want to dream. It could be too painful.

I sat on the edge of my cot, staring blankly at the empty one to my left. Soon someone would be sleeping there. Someone would be sleeping in Hawkeye's old cot and drinking from his martini glass and operating on patients that would have been his.

What was this new surgeon going to be like? I didn't care much. He didn't have to be my new best friend. In fact, I didn't want him to be. Unlike the MASH 4077th, I didn't need a replacement for Hawkeye. I was going to have to learn to live without him again.

This new guy didn't have to be my best buddy, but he definitely didn't need to be another Frank Burns either. I didn't think I could stand two jackasses instead of the usual one.

And this guy had better be stable. I couldn't deal with an unstable surgeon at the moment. It was hard enough to keep my brain intact and I couldn't help some other unlucky fellow keep his in place as well. As long as he could stay semi-sane, it would be okay.

I looked at my watch. It was almost three. I sighed quietly and stared over at sleeping Frank. I wondered what he was thinking about all of this. I wondered if he really knew what had happened that night and he was just acting oblivious. What was I saying? It was no act. Frank was the most oblivious person on earth. He had absolutely no clue. As far as I knew, no one other than myself knew what really had occurred except for Margaret and Hawkeye.

And... dead men tell no tales.


	3. Chapter 2

This is fun for me to write. I liked adding in Jimmy and seeing what happened. BJ is starting to sound like Hawkeye though. I need to fix that.

**Disclaimer: **Only Jimmy is mine. The rest aren't. But I made Jimmy cool so go me!

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"If this bullet had gone any deeper into this boy, it would have come out of the other side of him," Colonel Potter declared as he prepared to operate on a young private.

"Maybe it would be better to go in through his back?" I suggested, elbows deep in a lieutenant.

"Nah," the colonel said as he inspected the wound. "I don't want to mess around with his spinal cord."

"Colonel?" Radar said as he peeked his head through the door, haphazardly covering his face with a mask.

"Yes, Radar?"

"Captain Frishman just arrived. Should I show him to the Swamp?"

"No, Radar. No time for that. Have him..."

"I'll tell him to get all sterile." Radar quickly hurried off.

Frank cringed.

"Something wrong, Major?" the colonel asked, looking up momentarily.

"Don't you find it annoying when he... does that? I mean thoughts are to be private. It's like he's invading your privacy."

"Really Frank, I wish you'd just shut up," I sighed as a new patient appeared in front of me and I slipped on a new pair of gloves.

"Colonel!" Frank whined.

"Play nice, boys. Let's not show Captain Frishman all of the immaturity this unit has in the first five minutes of his stay."

Just as the name was mentioned, Captain Frishman opened the door, stepping into the operating theater unsurely. "Captain James Frishman... where do you want me?"

"Over there," Colonel Potter said, pointing a bloody gloved finger towards the empty operating table.

"Nurse Quinn, assist Doctor Frishman," Margaret directed to a young red-haired nurse. The head nurse walked across the OR, her eyes still on Frishman. "Welcome to the 4077th, Doctor."

"Thank you," he muttered, putting on his gloves.

About three hours later I hobbled out of the OR, shedding my scrubs as I went. I instinctively collapsed on the bench, leaning against the wall. I watched as Captain Frishman did the same.

He let out a long sigh. "Is it always like that?"

"No," I chuckled tiredly. "It's normally worse. Those were light casualties."

"Oh boy," he said sarcastically. "James Frishman." He reached out his hand.

"BJ Hunnicutt." I shook his hand weakly. "You did pretty good in there, James. Better than my first time at least."

"How long have you been here, BJ?"

"Probably about four months now. I think I lost count after the first week. This schedule really screws up the internal clock."

"I bet." James gently brushed his blonde hair out of his face as he watched other personnel come in from the OR. Margaret made eye contact with me and then headed towards us.

"You did great in there, Doctor Frishman." She smiled.

"Major Houlihan, right?" Margaret nodded. "Thanks, Major. Oh, by the way, you can call me Jimmy."

Margaret smiled sweetly and walked away, looking back once to see the young man smiling at her.

I poked James' arm. "So she can call you Jimmy but I can't?"

Jimmy shook his head and smiled. "You can call me Jimmy if you want to. It's what my family calls me, and my girl too."

"Ah," I said. "You've got a girlfriend back home?"

Jimmy nodded with a huge smile. "I'll show you a picture sometime. I have her packed away right now. I think that corporal took my bags... O'Reilly or something?"

"Radar," I stated.

"Yeah, him. He said he was taking them to the Swamp. Mind explaining that to me, BJ?"

"The Swamp is the tent where I live along with Major Burns." I hesitated. I wanted to say Hawkeye too, but my mind knew that it wasn't true any more. "And you now."

"Oh. Major Burns. Was he the one on the far left?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Seems like an ass."

I smiled. "Your first impression was almost correct, Jimmy. Frank Burns would tell you himself that he's a major..."

"That makes him a major ass. I get it," Jimmy chuckled.

"C'mon Jim," I said, getting up. "Let's head towards the tent and get you unpacked."

"'Kay," Jimmy responded, slowly standing.

He walked along side of me in the darkness of the late hour as we neared the Swamp. We briefly discussed our families on the way. As soon as we were in the tent, Jimmy searched through his bags and found the picture of his girlfriend, Emma.

"She looks nice." I stared at the small photo of a slender young woman.

"She is," he said.

"I can tell by that smile of yours. It looks like your lips have gone MIA. Want a drink?"

I poured my new tent mate a glass from the still. I finally realized that it was almost empty. No wonder I hadn't felt much for the last few days. I had been drunk most of the time and I didn't even know it.

I watched as Jimmy Frishman took a sip of the martini, making the same face that I had when Hawkeye had given me my first one over four months before.


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry this is so short. I have a feeling the chapters from here out will be much longer though. Please review. I live for ego boosts.

**Disclaimer:** Jimmy is mine. None of the others are. I know you're jealous of my Jimmy-having but that's just the way it is.

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"Scalpel."

I looked across the O.R. towards Jimmy as Nurse Kellye handed me the scalpel. He had been here for almost a week and he was doing okay. Aside from the nightmares that he mentioned had been coming to him lately, Jimmy was holding up well.

I watched as Margaret came to Jimmy's table. She smiled sweetly as she asked if he needed any help. He politely shook his head, although he didn't look up at her. I could tell that he was smiling though. His mask was covering his mouth, but I could tell.

This had been going on ever since the minute Jimmy had arrived. The subtle flirting between them was making me sick. I wondered briefly if Margaret knew that Jimmy had a girlfriend back in Maryland. I then convinced myself that even if she did know, it wouldn't stop her. I just hoped that Jimmy could stay strong. A moment of weakness around Hot Lips Houlihan would mean sure destruction. I clenched the scalpel tighter.

After the myriad of wounded were taken care of, Jimmy and I hobbled towards the Swamp. I poured us each a martini as Frank came in.

"You know Frishman, you shouldn't drink that," Frank sniffed as he sat on the edge of his cot and stared at Jimmy.

"I know I shouldn't. But that doesn't mean I ain't gonna." Jimmy smiled as he toasted the air and took a sip.

I couldn't help but smile as Frank grabbed his coat and left.

After we each downed a few martinis, I thought it safe enough for a serious discussion. "Hey, Jimmy..."

"Ya?" He poured us each another drink.

"I think Margaret is taking a liking to you."

"Oh? Major Houlihan? Yeah... I think so too."

I went over and sat next to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Jimmy, Hot Lips is bad news. You can't keep casually flirting with her or else she will eat you alive."

Jimmy chuckled. "I'm a big boy, BJ. Don't worry; it's under control."

"Or so you think..." I mumbled.

"Why do you dislike Major Houlihan so much? She seems pretty okay to me."

I hesitated and frowned. "She ..." I didn't have enough alcohol in me yet. "Never mind. Maybe I'll tell you another time."

Jimmy smiled and patted me on the back. "'Kay. Listen, I'm going to go get something to eat. Wanna come with?"

"Nah," I said. "I think I'm going to try to sleep."

Jimmy looked disappointed. He didn't like to go anywhere alone. He felt like the new kid at school that everyone sort of agitated. "All right." He turned and walked out of the Swamp.

I watched as he headed towards the Mess Tent. Once he was out of sight, I left as well. I wandered aimlessly across the compound, finding myself in front of Margaret's tent. Before I knew it, I was knocking on her door.

It slowly opened. "Yes?"

"I have to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Oh, I think you already know, Margaret."


	5. Chapter 4

I'm very sorry that took so long.  I've been so busy!  I'm also sorry it's too short.  Meh, I'm sorry for everything.  You can blame me for global warming if you want.  I won't mind.

**Disclaimer:**  not... mine...

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"Now is not a good time, Captain," Margaret hissed.

"Why not?" I replied, my voice becoming a little louder than preferred.

"I have company." Just then, Frank appeared behind Margaret and peered at me over her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled.

"I'd ask you the same thing, Frank, but I'm afraid you'd answer me."

Neither Frank nor Margaret was amused. "Goodbye, Captain." And then the door was slammed in my face.

I pondered knocking again and somehow forcing my way in to say some much needed things to the good Major Houlihan, but half of the things couldn't be said while Frank was there anyway. There was no point, so I strolled back to the Swamp. Jimmy hadn't come back yet and I thought I had gotten away with my lie.

When Jimmy did return, I made sure I was lying on my cot with a book so that he didn't get suspicious.

"Hey, BJ. Get some sleep?"

"Nah... there was too much on my mind."

Jimmy nodded as he sat down on his cot. "You lie pretty badly, BJ."

I stared at him. "What?"

"You went to talk to Major Houlihan."

"No. I was here trying to sleep."

"Ha! I _saw you_." He quickly added, "And don't even say that it must have been someone else that looks like you."

Jimmy had caught me. "So what if I did? Why can't I have a friendly chat with a fellow officer?"

"Oh that wasn't any friendly chat. I could have heard that door slam a mile away." Jimmy smiled. "But whatever. It's none of my business. Just, BJ, please don't lie to me. I really can't stand it when people lie to me."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. I just didn't want you to have to get involved in this."

"Involved in what?" he asked, looking up from the boot he was re-lacing. "Some sort of scandal? Conspiracy?" Jimmy smiled and muttered, "Some drama you guys got here!"

I chuckled. "The most drama around here is who will win the cockroach races."

"Aren't those held in the mess tent after lunch?"

I smiled. "You're pretty good with your remarks, kid."

"I'm only a year or two younger than you, BJ... I'm not a kid."

"I know," I said looking down at the floor. "You just seem so untouched still. So... unscarred."

Jimmy let out a sigh. "I miss Emma, BJ. A lot."

"I know. I miss Peg and Erin like I've never missed anyone before. I'd do anything to be back home to kiss my wife and watch my little girl grow up."

"I wasn't going to do this..." Jimmy hesitated and smiled. "But, when I get back home, as soon as I see Emma, I'm gonna ask her to marry me. That is _if_ I get back home..."

"You'll get back home," I reassured him, patting him on the back as I got up from my cot and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Showers."

"Wait for me." Jimmy grabbed his necessary supplies and joined me right outside the Swamp.

"Let's go get all clean," he said, putting his arm around me.

Out of everyone in the world that could have been sent to the MASH 4077th, I was lucky enough to get Jimmy. He reminded me of myself in so many ways. He was a great kid, and it was unfortunate that he wasn't staying at the 4077th much longer.


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been rather uninspired lately. I realize it's a bit fluffy but... meh... hope you like it :D

**Disclaimer: **They STILL aren't mine!?

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"BJ." Shake. "BJ." Shake. "Beej… c'mon. Wake up. Please." 

At first I thought I was having a dream that there was an earthquake back home in Mill Valley, but then I realized (much to my relief) that Jimmy was kneeling down next to my cot, trying to wake me. As soon as I opened my eyes and Jimmy's met mine with less of a happy feeling than usual, I knew something was terribly wrong.

"Jim, what's wrong?"

"My dad died, BJ. Last night." Jimmy sniffled and I could tell he was trying to hold tears back.

His words hit me oddly. I didn't really know how to comfort him, or if I should. I instantly thought about how everyone tried to comfort me after Hawkeye's death and how I thanked them and said it helped but it really didn't. But then I realized that this was much different. First of all, Jimmy's dad was… well his dad, while Hawkeye was my best friend. And there probably wasn't too much controversy around his death. No, it was nothing like it.

"Oh. What happened?" I said as gently as I could.

"Heart attack." Jimmy paused. "It's my fault Beej. I know it is. It's 'cos I left. If I would have never come here I would have been there and he would have been under so much stress and…"

"Shhh…" I said, putting my hand uneasily on Jimmy's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Jim. You're a doctor; you should know that."

I watched as the younger man took a deep breath and let loose his sorrow. Without hesitating I sat up and put my arms around him, holding him close.

Jimmy then smiled and chuckled through his tears. "But I'm going home, Beej. I'm going home!"

I pulled back and smiled at him. I didn't know what to say. "I'm gonna miss you, kid."

"I'll miss you too, BJ. Thank you for everything."

"So when are you leaving?" I asked, scooting over so that Jimmy could sit next to me on the cot.

"Colonel Potter said I should be leaving today 'round noon. Said I should be home in a week or so." He wiped away some tears.

I tried to think of something that would cheer him up. "So are you going to ask Emma to marry you?"

"Yeah. It would probably be best to wait until after the funeral, but… I don't want there to be any chance of losing her ever again."

I smiled. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Jimmy."

"He was sick to begin with… I mean we all knew it was coming, just not this soon…"

"No. I mean, I'm sorry about your dad and all but… I'm sorry you had to come here. Especially when you did. You came here not knowing what kind of shoes you had to fill and instead of filling those shoes, you created a new pair. But I'm glad you came. I mean I don't think I could have gotten over Hawkeye as well without you…"

"What happened to Hawkeye?" Jimmy asked rather forthrightly.

"Um… it's not important, Jim…"

"Tell me. Please. BJ, what happened to Hawkeye?" Jimmy stared, his expression urging me to tell everything.

I wrestled with my thoughts. I wasn't sure if I should but… it couldn't hurt… he was leaving and…

"Margaret killed him."


	7. Chapter 6

Finally! I'm expecting to write one more chapter to finish this off. Much much much thanks to HawkeyesMartini for the immense help with this chapter and the usual betaing.

**Disclaimer:** Teh Jimm0rz is mine. Teh rest is not!!!1one lol. -- me being momentarily stupid.

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"Margaret… killed Hawkeye?" A look of shock overcame Jimmy's mien.

I looked around the tent as I tried to formulate my response. "Yes," was all that I came up with.

"I mean Margaret isn't the most caring person in the world BJ, but I don't think she'd be able to kill someone…"

"Well, she did."

"I just… I don't understand. How?" Jimmy repositioned himself on the cot so that we faced each other.

"It's a long story, Jim. Just don't worry about it. You should get some sleep so that you can be ready to go home..."

"No, I have to know and if you don't tell me, I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep." Jimmy put his hand on my shoulder and shook me very gently. "C'mon, Beej. Tell me. You have to tell me."

"Pour me a drink then, Jim; I'm not going to do this completely sober." A miniature sad smile crept over my face and I turned on the light, revealing that Frank was still occupied in Post Op.

I received two martinis before I began talking. But even then, it was extremely difficult.

"Hawkeye was what you could call a ladies' man. He was always with one girl or another. I'd seen him leave and return at all hours of the night to meet up with a nurse more times than I could count. But I'd never seen him as happy as he was after spending some time with Margaret. After so long, she had finally given into his innuendoes and remarks and agreed to have dinner with him. He came back pretending that she aggravated the hell out of him, but the truth was that he was crazy about her. I'd even say that Hawkeye was starting to fall in love with her.

"Hawkeye received a letter from his father a few days after his date with Margaret saying that he was rather ill and going to have some tests done in Spruce Harbor. This distressed Hawkeye a great deal and he emptied the still himself that night. I walked in after an all night shift in Post Op and found a note under a martini glass. It said something like: 'I'm going to take a walk in a minefield. Yours Truly, Hawkeye.' I immediately started asking around to see if anyone had seen Hawkeye yet that morning. But I found that the most recent anyone had seen him was late the night before.

"I went to the Officer's Club, where Igor had seen him around ten. He said Hawkeye had left and gone in the direction of Major Houlihan's tent, so that's where I went next. I said something along the lines of 'My little doggy has gone astray. Do you know where I could possibly find him?' and she responded by saying that she hadn't seen him yet that day, but he had been there last night. She agreed to help me look for Hawkeye and in the process we heard that a farmer and his son had found him dead in a field."

Jimmy seemed almost paralyzed at this point. "So how did she kill him?"

"She said he'd arrived at her tent completely inebriated at an odd hour, claiming that he loved her. She didn't take him seriously and told him he should take a walk in a minefield. Hawkeye listened to her and apparently in his drunken state, took a wrong step, setting off a landmine. Some shrapnel hit him in the chest, causing him to bleed to death overnight."

Jimmy breathed in deeply as he moved the hair from his face. "So she didn't kill him…"

"She did kill him, Jimmy. She did."

"But I mean, she didn't actually kill him with her own hands. It's just that he was drunk and took her joke too seriously?"

"She killed my best friend, Jimmy!" I wound up saying rather loudly for the time of night. "If it wasn't for Margaret, I'd still have him!" I felt my body start to shake as I tried to calm down, but nothing seemed to be letting up. I swallowed hard. "Jimmy… she killed Hawkeye."

"I understand why you blame her, BJ. But it wasn't completely her fault. I'm sure she didn't know that Hawkeye was going to take what she said literally. You can't blame Margaret. It was an accident and I'm sure she feels really bad about it."

"But she doesn't, Jim. She shows no remorse whatsoever and that really irritates me. How can she not feel guilt? I mean… I… do. Every day." I felt a hot tear start to leak out and I closed my eyes tightly.

Jimmy put his hand on my shoulder again, and it comforted me. "Don't blame yourself either, Beej."

Why was it that everyone I became close friends with called me 'Beej', and everyone who called me that had to leave me somehow?


End file.
